


like water in your hands

by orpheuslament



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Hannibal Lecter Loves Will Graham, M/M, Post-Fall (Hannibal), Pure sap, Will Graham Loves Hannibal Lecter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:54:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27541126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orpheuslament/pseuds/orpheuslament
Summary: thoughts on water, rebirth, and interconnectedness.
Relationships: Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter
Comments: 11
Kudos: 71





	like water in your hands

**Author's Note:**

> something short and sweet prompted by @lightbereft on twitter

_“For whatever we lose (like a you or a me),  
It's always our self we find in the sea.” _

— e. e. cummings

The setting sun sent waves of red and golden back to the shore, the once crystal clear water reflecting the sky back to them. This far off any big cities, stars punctured the firmament like a thousand tiny holes in a tin can. It reminded Will of his little boat at sea, back in Wolf Trap. The same feeling of both insignificance and belonging that surrounded him whenever he stood by the woods, a soothing reminder that the universe around him was vast and wild and unpredictable and there is only so much one person can do to alter its course. The gentle roar of the waves and the fresh scent of sea salt was a nice addition, as was the man standing behind him.

Hannibal’s skin was warm where it pressed against his back after a long day basking under the summer sun, strong arms surrounding him as they stared out into nothingness. The air around them was already beginning to cool down, a welcomed change to the oppressive heat they had to endure during the day. He could barely make out a tiny fishing boat, far down on the horizon, its lights flickering every few seconds. Apart from this and the incessant screeching of the seagulls, it felt like they were utterly alone in the world. 

“Has water always called to you?” Hannibal said, chin resting on his shoulder. 

His voice had taken the same soft cadence of the sea. Will thought of ancient gods, both revered and feared. The same hand that watered their crops sending a typhoon to destroy them. Not benevolent, but not evil either. Simply an ungovernable product of faith. 

“I guess so, yes,” Will craned his neck. Hannibal smelt of salt and sunscreen. “I grew up near the sea, most of my early memories revolve around it.”

“A source of comfort and familiarity.” 

Will hummed, “That, and people can’t talk to you if your head is underwater.” 

Hannibal breathed out a laugh. “I can almost see you, magnificent and carefree like a water nymph.” 

“More like a wet dog. My hair always ended up tangled and matted, it was hell to comb through.” 

“Careless.” 

“No one was forcing me into a five-step hair routine back then.”

“You say that as if you ever bother following it.”

“I do,” a beat, “sometimes. I prefer it when you do it.”

“I can’t wash your hair for you every time you deem it necessary.” 

“Oh, but you have such _marvelous_ hands.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere, my love.”

Will shrugged, a wide grin plastered on his face. “It has worked before.”

“You continue to exploit my weaknesses,” Hannibal pressed his own smile against his shoulder, and then proceeded to leave a trail of gentle kisses up to his neckline. 

“Every one of your weaknesses is also one of mine,” Will sighed, tilting his head to allow Hannibal easier access to his neck. 

“You chose the ocean as our tomb,” Hannibal murmured against his skin. “Was that intentional?” 

Will pondered on it for a second. “No. Maybe, I don’t know. I guess it just felt right.” 

“Water is often considered a symbol of rebirth. You emerge from it a changed person, it strips you clean.”

“A christening of some sort.”

“Is that what you consider it?” 

Hannibal’s heart had stopped at some point after he had managed to drag them both out of the icy depths of the Atlantic, and the world had gone silent. His lungs hurt, his face hurt, every single one of his muscles throbbed in pain and he could feel none of it. If Hannibal had gone in that moment, he would have followed. Styx waited for them with open arms. The boat had been paid, he only had to close his eyes again.

Later on, when they were both balancing on the edge of consciousness and the worst of their wounds had been attended to, Will noticed some bruising forming where he had been pounding on Hannibal’s chest in a desperate attempt at CPR, next to the ones the collision with the water had left him with. They took a long time to fade. 

Some nights, when he woke up in a cold sweat and a broken plea stuck in his throat, he curled up next to Hannibal like a child, head to his chest, and listened to the steady drum of his heart for hours to make sure it was still there. 

“We died, and then we didn’t. Reborn in the eyes of God and whatnot. I don’t know what else to call it,” Will said. “What do _you_ consider it?”

“A union. A merging of souls.”

“Fell as two men and emerged as a beast?” 

Hannibal laughed softly. “A magnificent beast, at that.” 

It was. They had created something terrible and beautiful. It was exactly what Will had been trying to avoid. 

“Do you regret it?” Hannibal spoke again. “Having survived? Not letting me die?”

“No,” the answer came to Will before he could think about it. “I could not possibly regret anything that has brought us to this moment.” 

Hannibal simply hummed in agreement and wrapped his arms tighter around him. Every tear in their bodies had been stitched back together, golden thread spinning something larger than life itself. 

They would have to start gathering their things soon, before the sun disappeared completely and the tides started to rise, but the wind was mild, the sound of the waves soothing and he had no intention of moving as long as it wasn't strictly necessary. 

Will turned to face Hannibal, his hair falling loose down his forehead, his skin sunkissed and smiling with impossible fondness at him. He leaned in to kiss him, gentle in a way he never thought he could afford. 

“Join me for one last swim?” 

“It’s getting cold, Will.”

“Please?” Will asked again, already dragging him towards the shore by the hand with little to no resistance. 

“And then we go home.”

“And then we go home,” Will smiled. “Promise.” 

He kept walking until they were both waist-high in the water, lowered himself, and pulled at Hannibal’s hand again. 

“This is as far as I go,” Hannibal said with a slight arch to his eyebrow, “I don’t want to get my hair wet again.” 

Will huffed, pulled again, and in one swift motion linked a leg behind Hannibal’s knee and let go, making him lose his balance and fall ass-first into the water. 

He was still laughing when Hannibal lunged towards him, pushing him backwards. Will let out an undignified shriek and struggled to keep his head above water. It took him a moment to notice Hannibal was laughing too, eyes crinkling in pure glee, and it was such a rare and precious sight Will felt as if he had been punched in the stomach. 

Not being able to stop himself, he seized him by the face and kissed him until they were both as breathless as he felt.

"You're a menace."

Will felt Hannibal's smile against his lips and caught it between his teeth. "Do something about it."

And so he did. Hoisted him up with ease until his legs were tight around Hannibal’s waist, his hands holding him in place and their chests pressed together. And he kissed him, and kissed him and kissed him as the waves lapped at their conjoined bodies and the rest of the universe melted around them. Once again forming a single creature, an animal of eight limbs and one single heartbeat, sharp teeth and careful edges. The sea had not given him back a man but a promise. They would roam Hell as one until it all burned down at their feet, and he would never feel cold again. 

Hannibal lowered him down slowly, looked up at the sky, taking in the vast infinity of it with awe in his eyes, and then back at him. 

“ _L'amor che move il sole e l'altre stelle,_ ” he whispered. 

Will pressed their foreheads together and closed his eyes. “Thank you,” he said, both to the sea and to the monster holding him in his arms, “for coming back to me.” 

Hannibal ran his thumb through the fading scar on his cheek as if he was opening it up again. Behind his eyes, blood poured freely from every mark they had left on each other and bathed them in inky black light. 

“I always will,” Hannibal lifted his head with two fingers to his chin, “as long as you want me to.” 

“No other option than forever, now.”

“There are plenty of other options.”

“No,” Will shook his head, “the decision has been made. I took it long before I even knew there was a decision to be taken.”

“You could take it again.”

“I do, every day. I still choose this.”

Hannibal’s face softened, the light reflecting on his eyes making him look both younger than he was and ancient. He tucked a strand of hair behind his ear and left his hand there.

“Forever, then.”

The moon claimed her place in the sky with solemnity and they returned, once again, to land.

**Author's Note:**

> title is from moon song by phoebe bridgers, which still manages to make me tear up every single time.  
> thank you for reading! kudos and comments are, as always, very appreciated.  
> find me on twitter at @orqheus and @vlvtgoidmine and on tumblr at hwinter.tumblr.com  
> have a nice day!!


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